Defense Force

The unfinished defense game made by hans van harken and bas in het veld.

The Z-Word

Fast paced, action packed beat 'em up with RPG elements. Use multiple upgradeable weapons.

Sushi Boy Thunder

Fly through space nabbin' coins and avoiding bombs to the beat of an awesome soundtrack.

"What Happened To Waiting 20 Years For Remakes?"

Last weekend, the cinemas of America were bursting with several fine films — Captain America and Harry Potter in the multiplexes, The Guard, The Future, Tabloid, Project Nim at the art houses — yet the big hit was The Smurfs, a CGI-enhanced big-screen version of the intolerable, one-joke cartoon series from the 1980s. The film has been a punch line for months, but when the receipts were tallied up, The Smurfs came within a hair of beating the weekend’s top grosser, Cowboys & Aliens, co-starring no less than James Bond and Han Solo.

Suddenly, the previous big question surrounding The Smurfs (“How the hell did that get made?”) has been replaced by a bigger one (“How the hell did that make so much money?”) and sadly, both questions have the same answer: the ’80s nostalgia factor. It is not a phenomenon confined to the singular occurrence of The Smurfs; my own visit to multiplex this weekend confirmed the existence, via trailers and posters, of similarly unnecessary and unwelcome remakes of artifacts like Conan the Barbarian, Footloose, and Fright Night.

Why are these films being made? Because the people who make movies (and even, increasingly, decide what movies are made) are getting younger and younger — young enough to have been children and teenagers in the 1980s, and to have fond memories of a show like The Smurfs and a film like Footloose, and if it was good then, it would be even better now, yes?
- Jason Bailey

As I put on the comments section:

The new Conan film isn't a remake any more than Captain America is a "remake" of the 1990s Matt Salinger film - or the Reb Brown tv movies, for that matter. Like Captain America, Conan has had a long following in books, comics and other media dating back to his first appearance in 1932, in "The Phoenix on the Sword" by Robert E. Howard. A new Conan film had been in development since the 1990s, but was only made into a film now because of constant fumbling and missteps by Warner Brothers. There were at least two occasions where development on a Conan film were getting pretty far along, before something or other (usually because Arnold chose to do a different film, or went into politics). To attribute Conan being made only now due to '80s nostalgia is to completely ignore the recent history of the film franchise.

In fact, this idea of Hollywood executives making films they're nostalgic for is nothing new in Hollywood. Why do you think so many black-and-white films like Ben-Hur and The Man Who Knew Too Much suddenly got colour films in the '50s and '60s? For the same reason that silent films were remade into talkies - and the same reason '80s films are being remade now - because Hollywood was never about originality. Remakes have been a fixture of Hollywood since the dawn of the business.

Don't believe me? Here are a list of remakes made before 1970, which were made ten years or less after the original. I'm not including adaptations, because the list would be preposterously huge otherwise. But it shows that this insane notion of Hollywood only now running out of original ideas is nothing short of... inaccurate. (that's all I could think of saying.)

Hoodman Blind (1913) remade as Hoodman Blind (1923) - 10 years
The Golden Chance (1915) remade as Forbidden Fruit (1921) - 6 years
The Three Godfathers (1916) remade as Marked Men (1919) - 3 years
The Grocery Clerk (1919) remade as The Counter Jumper (1922) - 3 years
His Royal Slyness (1920) remade as Long Fliv the King (1926) - 6 years
Outside the Law (1920) remade as Outside the Law (1930) - 10 years
The Unknown Cavalier (1926) remade as Ride Him, Cowboy (1932) - 8 years
Duck Soup (1927) remade as Another Fine Mess (1930) - 3 years
Land Beyond the Law (1927) remade as The Big Stampede (1932) - 5 years
Love 'em and Weep (1927) remade as Chickens Come Home (1931) - 4 years
London After Midnight (1927) remade as Mark of the Vampire (1935) - 8 years
Seventh Heaven (1927) remade as Seventh Heaven (1937) - 10 years
Somewhere in Sonora (1927) remade as Somewhere in Sonora (1933) - 6 years
The Phantom City (1928) remade as Haunted Gold (1932) - 4 years
Lost Patrol (1929) remade as The Lost Patrol (1934) - 5 years
Teacher's Pet (1930) remade as Bored of Education (1936) - 6 years
The Dawn Patrol (1930) remade as The Dawn Patrol (1938) - 8 years
Range Feud (1931) remade as The Red Rider (1934) - 3 years
The Mayor of Hell (1933) remade as Crime School (1938) - 5 years
Penthouse (1933) remade as Society Lawyer (1939) - 6 years
The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) remade as They Made Me a Criminal (1939) - 6 years
Viktor und Viktoria (1933) remade as First a Girl (1935) - 2 years
Intermezzo (1936) remade as Intermezzo (1939) - 3 years
The Walking Dead (1936) remade as The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) - 3 years
Pépé le Moko (1937) remade as Algiers (1938) - 1 year(!)
Le Corbeau (1943) remade as The 13th Letter (1951) - 7 years
Van Gogh (1947) remade as Van Gogh (1948) - 1 year(!)
Cat-Women of the Moon (1953) remade as Missile to the Moon (1958) - 5 years
Seven Samurai (1954) remade as The Magnificent Seven (1960) - 6 years
Jigoku (1960) remade as Jigoku (1970) - 10 years
Yojimbo (1961) remade as A Fistful of Dollars (1964) - 3 years
Irma la Douce (1963) remade as Irma la Douce (1972) - 9 years

What about some modern examples of quick-turnaround remakes?

L.A. Takedown (1989) remade as Heat (1995)) - 6 years

... That's it.

But what about foreign-to-English Language remakes, which I'll expand to include modern times?

Castle of Blood (1964) remade as Web of the Spider (1971) - 7 years
Le Jouet (1976) remade as The Toy (1982) - 6 years
La Chèvre (1981) remade as Pure Luck (1991) - 10 years
Three Men And A Cradle (1985) remade as Three Men and a Baby (1987) - 2 years
Force Majeure (1989) remade as Return to Paradise (1998) - 9 years
La Femme Nikita (1990) remade as Point of No Return (1993) - 3 years
La Totale! (1991) remade as True Lies (1994) - 3 years
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) remade as Tortilla Soup (2001) - 7 years
Nattevagten (1994) remade as Nightwatch (1997) - 3 years
Un indien dans la ville (1994) remade as Jungle 2 Jungle (1997) - 3 years
L'Appartement (1996) remade as Wicker Park (2004) - 8 years
Shall We Dansu? (1996) remade as Shall We Dance (2004) - 8 years
Taxi (1996) remade as Taxi (2004) - 8 years
Abre Los Ojos (1997) remade as Vanilla Sky (2001) - 4 years
Insomnia (1997) remade as Insomnia (2002) - 5 years
Ringu (1998) remade as The Ring (2002) - 4 years
Nueve Reinas (2000) remade as Criminal (2004) - 4 years
One Missed Call (2004) remade as One Missed Call (2007) - 3 years
Shutter (2004) remade as Shutter (2008) - 4 years
Il Mare (2000) remade as The Lake House (2006) - 6 years
L'ultimo bacio (2001) remade as The Last Kiss (2006) - 5 years
Mostly Martha (2001) remade as No Reservations (2007) - 6 years
Infernal Affairs (2002) remade as The Departed (2006) - 4 years
The Eye (2002) remade as The Eye (2008) - 6 years
Klatretøsen (2002) remade as Catch That Kid (2004) - 2 years
Interview (2003 film) remade as Interview (2007 film) - 4 years
Ju-on: The Grudge (2003) remade as The Grudge (2004) - 1 years
Brødre (2004) to Brothers (2009) - 5 years
Sigaw (2004) to The Echo (2008) - 4 years
Anthony Zimmer (2005) remade as The Tourist (2010) - 5 years
# 13 (2010) from 13 Tzameti (2005) - 5 years
[REC] (2007) remade as Quarantine (2008) - 3 years
LOL (Laughing Out Loud) (2008) remade as LOL: Laughing Out Loud (2011) - 3 years
Anything for Her (2008) remade as The Next Three Days (2010) - 2 years

So next time someone complains about a remake of Krull or The Breakfast Club as another example of Hollywood running out of ideas, remember - this is nothing new. Stop acting as if it is.

Indonesian Learning Pronouncation Playlist Videos

Hello there...

Its exciting for everyone who successed to finishing their project. Just like me, i've finished my project to making Indonesian pronouncation lessons on Youtube. Yeah, its started from audio files that i made for one of my British friend.

I remember, when the middle of the night, when we made a conversation about Indonesian learning, she felt difficult to say/speak in Indonesian. Because of that, i thought that i must be make some audios for easing her learning. So, i decided to make some with recording with my own voice. Its not too difficult to recording, cause i've interested with audio digital technology, so its like shooting two birds with one stone.

Ok, finally, i want to embed my videos here, i think this blog must be updated everytime, cause its still quiet blog from visitors. So, please enjoy the videos and once more again, if you have some questions or requests of learning, dont be shy, please tell me. Have a nice day.

#1 How to pronounce A - I - U - E - O in Indonesian

#2 How to pronounce (B) BA - BI - BU - BE - BO in Indonesian

#3 How to pronounce (C) CA - CI - CU - CE - CO in Indonesian

#4 How to pronounce (D) DA - DI - DU - DE - DO in Indonesian

#5 How to pronounce (F) FA - FI - FU - FE - FO in Indonesian

See more videos in my playlist, ok.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2B4E7150EE2B56CF

Mr. Runner 2

A hard-core fast-paced platformer, all about blasting through levels at top speed!

Mario's basketball game

Mario has to avoid Goomba's a score as many baskets and points as he can

Penguin Overlords

The turtles have conquered the world, and you must raise a turtle eating army of penguins!

Toxie Radd 3D

Joe is back again... Now in full 3D real time FPS!!!

Run From the Sun

The sun is exploding! Launch your spaceship from planet to planet...

Droid Assault

Swarms of droids have been sent with one mission: To kill you!

Unreal Flash 3

Unreal Flash is back! Bigger, Better and way more explosive!

Sci-Fighters

Be the last man, child, woman or robot standing and survive to see another day!

Pixel Explorer

Go to the pixel world, control the time, examine your enemies and take their treasures!

â€œPixel Explorerâ€ is an original game, which combines action and logic games genres.

You come from the world of balls. Your speciality is spying pixels, the biggest enemy of your kind. The war between balls and pixels has started long ago, but now is the time, when the real fight begins. Your mission is to go to the pixel world and take pixels treasures. There is no better challenge for a pixel explorer!

Split Seconds

It is a jigsaw puzzle. You should try your best to finish it as soon as possible. If you can finish all the level. I think you are really a talent.

MIA...

Hello! I hope you have all had a blast teaching Follow the Prophet!

I appologize for my lack of posts. I decided to take a trip to Utah to visit my family, so things got busy quick, and I just didn't have time to post. I've got several ideas for April's song, so don't give up on me yet!

E-MAIL: If any of you have requested files or flip-charts in the last week or two, and I have not responded, please let me know. You can e-mail me at sillysinginglady@gmail.com

Just some ideas for Follow the prophet, if you still need them:

While visiting my brother's ward, I got a few ideas.

The chorister had made prophet puppets out of the large paper grocery sacks, with the eye holes cut out. She'd call on a child to come be the prophet, and wear the mask. When it got to the chorus, the child would do an action and the rest of the primary would "follow" them. The kids were thrilled to be able to just wear the mask!

Today, (since I just got home last night), I plan on bringing out the cubes. One cube will have the names of different prophets, and the other will have the various ways of singing: loud/soft, stop/go, eddie spaghettie, etc.

April flipchart: I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ

You can download the WORD DOCUMENT or the PDF here.

April: week 1 (introduce)

I really liked the suggestion on how to introduce this song, as outlined in the 2010 outline for Sharing Time, so, that is where my INTRO comes from. I will do the same INTRO for both Junior and Senior, but will change how I go about teaching the song for both groups.
***I plan on reviewing He Sent His son, so that plan is at the bottom of this post***

INTRO:

Ask the kids to stand up if:

They have ever belonged on a sports team.
Belong to a neighborhood
belong to a family.
If they belong to a church.

Ask them what church they blong to. Show them a blown up picture of the Church Logo.

Tell them that belonging means to be an important part of something. We are all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We belong to Christ’s church.

JUNIOR primary:

(We have a VERY young Junior primary...)

Tell the kids that you brought a friend who also belongs to this church, who wants to teach them a song. Show them a puppet. (It would be awesome if this puppet could wear a missionary-type name tag) Tell them that they will take turns singing: when the puppet sings, it is the children’s turn to listen, and when it is the children’s turn to sing, the puppet will listen.

Have visuals up on blackboard, scattered, and have the kids help put them in the right order.

Procedure: The puppet will sing a sentence of the song, the kids will find the correlating picture, the puppet will re-sing that sentence, then the kids will sing that sentence. (most of the sentences are VERY short, so do a few repetitions for each one) Then, group the sentences into phrases (each color below represents a “phrase”) and sing through that phrase.

I belong to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I know who I am.

I know God’s Plan.

I’ll follow him in Faith.

I believe in the Savior Jesus Christ,

I’ll honor his name!

I’ll do what is right!

I’ll follow his light!

His truth I will proclaim!

When finished, have a volunteer, come point to each picture as the puppet and primary sing through the whole song.

SENIOR Primary:

Have visuals scattered on board. Start singing, and have the kids put the pictures in the right order, but only one person can put a picture up at a time, then they will pick someone else to find the next picture. When the pictures are in the right order, talk through the song with them, explaining the importance of each phrase.

Review: He Sent His Son

Invite kids up to hold visuals for the Questions, leaving spaces between each child, for the answers. Post the answer pictures, scattered, up on a blackboard. Ask a question, then have a child go find the matching answer, and stand in the correct spot. Sing through that question and answer, then repeat. When all pictures are in the correct spot, sing through the whole song.

April: week 2 & 3 (Reinforce)

I'm so excited about this week, because I get to bring back the Magic potion! It's been over a year since we last did this, and it was SUCH a big hit. I love this idea because we can repeat, repeat, repeat! And even the tiniest juniors can be involved, even though they can't read yet. Besides, how could a science experiment in Primary, NOT be fun?!

Click HERE for a full, detailed description on how this works. I'm just going to give a brief summary below...

1) Write out the words to the song in 4 or 5 different colors on a dry-erase board.

(I did this last year to review How Firm a Foundation)

2) Have this prepared before hand: The clear cups contain a mixture of water and vinegar. The teaspoons have a drop of food coloring under a scoop of baking soda.

3) Invite a child to pick a spoon, and stir it in a cup of water. It will start to fiz as they stir. When the fiz goes down, it will reveal a color.

4) Then, have a child (or several children) come up and erase that color of words. Then, sing through the song. You could also sing through the song WHILE the kids are erasing the words, to maximize singing time, and minimize waiting time.

5) Repeat this process until all the words have been erased.

*** If you have separate Jr. and Sr. music times, you'll have to be quick about changing the water/vinegar out and setting up the spoons, and rewriting all the words.

Last time, I forgot to add the vinegar to the water for Sr. sharing, and there was no fiz!

Totally lame!

Don't forget the VINEGAR! :)

Mother's day song

This Sunday I will be teaching one of our two mother's day songs.

The following is my lesson plan, but you can do this for any song. Just look at the words, and think of questions you could ask the children that would require them to listen carefully. Then, find visuals to match (or pictures).

The key to learning, is REPETITION. The red words represent when I sing the song alone, and the purple words represent the kids singing with me.

I'm planning on this taking about 10 minutes.

Song: My Mother Dear (pg. 206)

1) Ask the children to listen to the song, as I describe a special person. I will tell them who it is at the end, so listen carefully! (sing song through, then have them sing the last phrase, starting with "A person bright and lovely..." with me a few times.

2)Tell them to listen for some rhyming words in the song. (Night, bright, cheer, dear) Sing the song again. Post these answers up on the board as they are given, and then sing the song again, pointing to the words when you get to them.

3) Have them listen for 3 things that a mother is like, while they pat their legs to the beat. Movement is always a great way to keep their attention through repetition.

4) As you ask for answers, pull the corresponding visual from a bag, and have them sing that phrase a few times.

(Basketball = sunshine...I'm sure you can do better than that, but that's all I could find to represent the sun...., Flowers = flowers in the spring time, blue-birds = happy song of bluebirds, Mirror = A person bright an lovely)

5) Invite children to come and hold visuals while they sing with you through the song. Then, have them find another friend to hold their object, and they take a seat, and you sing it again!

6) Tell them that you will be putting stickers on "super singers" and sing it again another time or two, or until every child ends up with a sticker. You can do this throughout the entire process, just be sure you tell them what the stickers are for at the beginning.

Mystery Mom Motivation!

Mystery Mom Motivation

This is just a quick activity to help motivate singing, and keep the interest up during repetitions!

I took a picture of two mothers from our ward. One for Senior, and one for junior. I cropped the pictures, and printed them out as an 8x10, so it was just a portrait picture. (You can print an 8x10 or 8x12 at Costco for .50!)

I may or may not use this picture frame, but cut out puzzle pieces to cover up the picture. As the kids sing and master different phrases to a song, invite a child to come and take off a piece. To keep the suspense, you might take a piece off yourself, to save the middle piece for last. :)

April: week 4 (Test)

Hat/Mystery word game

***This is not my original idea. I have no idea the original source, as I have seen it in numerous places...***

Update: I tried this with my junior and Sr. Primary today, and they loved the game....the Hat....no so much. Only one little girl wore it. :) I just held up the cards so the primary could see. Thanks to a comment left by Dana, who suggested taping the card to the kids' heads. That could be fun! Also eliminates concerns about lice. Ack! Thanks Dana!!!

This game is similar to the keyword game.

I have 4x6 index cards, that I have written a key word on.

In primary, pick one of these cards, or have a child pick a card.

Invite another child to come up and wear the hat.

Once the hat is on, show the card so everyone BUT the child wearing the hat, can see the word.

For Juniors: you might have the child go out in the hall, and then tell them what the word is.

Then, sing the song, but do NOT sing the word that is on the hat. At the end of the song, the child wearing the hat tries to guess which word is on the hat.

Hint: Help out your primary by putting your finger to your lips as if to "hush" them when the key word comes up in the song...

My key words for "The church of Jesus Christ" are: Know, Believe, Follow, name, right, light, proclaim, etc...

(this is my son. Isn't he handsome?)

God Of Armor

Inch Studio Original Game - Armor Hero God of War

Aliens are attacking the planent of Armor Heroes. You're the God of War that must destroy them.

[This is the GOD version, you have 100x attack power.]

Arrow Keys: Movement
A: Attack
S: Limit Break (has Cooldown)
D: Defend (Consumes Defend Bar)

Green Bar - Defend Bar, auto recover when not in use.

Crying Mother

Crying Mother Poster

So, some of you may have seen my cry for help yesterday, in figuring out the "crying mother" poster.

Thank you for your suggestions!!

Well, here's what I came up with!

Introducing:

My mom!

(Isn't she beautiful!?)

Thanks mom for being such a great sport and letting me use you!

Ignoring the disturbing hole in my mom's eye, it looks like she is really crying!

(I debated wether to put the whole in the tear duct, where tears actually come from, but thought the dark pupil would be less noticeable.)

So, here's what I used:

I enlarged my mom's picture at Costco. It is a 16x20 for .99! (I also debated about their poster-board option, but wasn't sure how sturdy it would be. I asked the lady at Costco to show me an example, and it is NICE stuff. a 16x20 would run you .99, but would elminate the need for a foam board, and spray adhesive...so it's almost even.)
Elmer's craft bond adhesive spray (Walmart)
Krylon finish spray (Walmart)
Color aplicator (Sally's Beauty supply .89)
Foam board (Walmart .84)

Here's a close up of the sprays.

**You can see on the first picture, the one that shows the finish project, that it blotchy. You might try another finishing spray, or even the gloss finish instead of the Matte. The finish is to keep the dripping water from destroying the picture and board.

Steps:

1) Poke hole in eye. (I used my eyelet setter)

2) Spray adhesive to back of picture. Make sure to protect whatever you are spraying on, from the overspray. I just used an old towel.

3) Adhere picture to foam board

4) poke hole in foam board through the eye. (Yes, it's disturbing, but take deep, slow breaths, and you'll get through it...) again, I used my eyelet setter.

5) Spray lots of coats of the finish all over the board, in nice even coats. (Don't follow my example. apparently, I did not do a good job...) I also did a few extra coats on the hole of the eye, and also on the back of the board.

6) I had about 7" extra foam board that I trimmed off, so there was a nice, even border around the picture.

7) I still haven't figured out how to attach the bottle, but this is my plan for Sunday:

Yup! Mega blocks! (Yeah, I spray painted my bottle black, in an effort to be more sneaky with the kids. Totally unnecessary! I built a little tower, propped up the bottle, and when I'm ready, I'll just reach over and squeeze the bottle. After the surprise has been made (that the mom actually cries), I'll just hold the bottle as I walk around the primary, making my mom cry. I'll post an update if I think of someway to hold the bottle to the poster.

8) WAHLAH! Have a blast!!! I'm so stinkin' excited for Sunday!

Armored Warrior Crazy Shooters

Armored Warrior Crazy Shooters

Game Objective:
Armored Warriors rushed out, destroy all monsters in the city.

Control Instruction:
Mouse to aim, left button to shoot. A/D to move, W and Space to jump.

Heroes of Mangara

A brand new tower defense based game combining strategic and rpg elements. You can skill your heroes, live through their adventures across the lands of Mangara and defeat enemy armies on your quest to return peace into these lands.

Crush the Castle 2 Players Pack

With hundreds of castles submitted, the Crush the Castle 2 Players Pack was made for the fans by the fans. Thanks to everyone who submitted. :)

A plague has befallen the people of King Blutias's empire. Those who are infected seem to be possessed by some kind of voodoo. The Redvonian King is afraid the plague will spread to his empire so he has sent you, his trusty Siege Master, to destroy the castles of those who are infected.

New special "foundation" blocks have been added as well as a new Undead Mode that tests your trebuchet skills.

Produced In-House by Armor Games Inc.
Programmed by Joey Betz.
Art by Chris "Con" Condon and James "Jimp" Pearmain
Special thanks to John, Dim, Joel.

Wolfgang Petersen Update

Ender's Game director, Wolfgang Petersen, is set to start filming a remake of The Poseidon Adventure for Warner Bros. Pictures starting in June. The movie is set to wrap in November.

Poseidon co-stars nine year old actor, Jimmy Bennett.

Hopefully there will be progress on Ender's Game after Petersen finishes up filming Poseidon.

OSC At Comic Con

Orson Scott Card will be appearing at the San Diego Comic Con on Sunday, July 17th at 2:00-3:00. He'll be discussing his latest novel, Magic Street, and hopefully giving an update on the Ender's Game movie. For more information, visit Comic-con.org.

May song?

"Apple" left this comment:

"I'm not sure where to post this, but here goes. I have noticed that May is a month that we can pick our own song to teach the children. Mother's Day songs are perfect but I am wondering what other songs choristers are teaching this month. We had a regional conference last week so this will be our first week of Primary for May. I am not sure what to teach. Would love to hear from everyone."

Great Question!

So, what are you teaching for May?

Our primary is doing "Faith" (CS 96)

Isingusing blog posted an awesome teaching idea for the "Fourth Article Of Faith" song.

OSC Q&A

The Charlotte Observer did a Q&A with Orson Scott Card and asked him about the Ender's Game movie:

Q. Last mention of the Ender's Game movie on hatrack.com talks about new writers being hired -- is this for a new script or a new draft of the existing script? Is there any new information beyond what's on hatrack?

A. Every draft with new writers is a new script. This time, at least, they've actually READ my scripts - a nice change. But we post everything on Hatrack.com and Taleswapper.net. Basically, any time something REALLY HAPPENS, we post the information. But since Hollywood is all about nothing ever happening until it all happens in a sudden panic, we don't often have anything new to report.

Maps for a Land I've Never Seen...

The official map over at ConantheBarbarianIn3D.com encapsulates exactly what my problem with the film is. And, to echo what I said over at CMB:

Let’s imagine Warner Brothers do something like this for The Hobbit: a stylized map showing all the regions in the film. Someone who knows nothing of Middle earth might see a cosy little village with doors in the hills; a stately town hidden in the mountains; high peaks shrouded in mist; a dark forest housing a hidden city and a black fortress; a grim mountain circled by a dragon; a city standing on a lake. A Tolkien fan, however, wouldn’t even need map markers to know what they were looking at – Hobbiton in the Shire; Rivendell; the Misty Mountains; Mirkwood, the Wood-elves’ realm and Dol Goldur; the Lonely Mountain and Smaug; Laketown.

A Conan fan doesn’t have that pleasure looking at this map. If I didn’t already know about the locations, I probably couldn’t even hazard a guess as to what the dark fortress, Greek-looking city, Middle-Eastern-looking city and coastal fort could be. I’ve even seen comments on the internet thinking the dark fortress, Middle-Eastern city and desert is Stygia, the Greek-Influenced Monastery and forest is Aquilonia, and the pirate ship is somewhere out on the Western Ocean in Tortage. Even considering that the broad location of the film is set on the “savage coast” of Turan, it’s parts of Turan we haven’t seen in any of the stories.

So the idea that the filmmakers have spent all this time and money making a completely new world when they already have 80 years’ worth of legend to draw from is… well, it is what it is, is all.

Then I imagined what a map of actual Conan stories would be like. Conan the Barbarian: Black Colossus would have Kuthchemes, Khoraja, Aphaka, Altaku, Shamla Pass, maybe Eruk and Akbatana. Conan the Barbarian: Queen of the Black Coast would have Messantia, the Black Coast, the Zarkheba River, the City of the Winged One, possibly adding Abombi, the Stygian Coast and Khemi. Conan the Barbarian: The People of the Black Circle would have Ayodhya, Peshkauri, Ghor, Zhaibar Pass, the Gurashah Valley, Mount Yimsha. King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon would feature Belverus, Tarantia, the Valkia, Poitain, Valbroso's castle, Messantia, Khemi, the Valley of Lions.

Wouldn't that be cool?

Faith poster

The song I picked for May, is "Faith". I know MOST of you did NOT pick this song, but I think this idea could work for many songs. This song worked particularly well, because there were 4 main ideas presented. (Please forgive my photography skills. They are very lacking...)

I started by showing them this poster:

I asked them what Faith is. After I got a few answers, I told them to listen to this song about Faith.

As I sang the song, I used the string behind the poster, to pull up the pictures out of their "boxes"

When I was finished, it looked like this.

Then, I pulled the pictures back down into their "boxes" and asked the kids what was in each "box". I was thrilled with their answers (and listening skills) when they used words and phrases from the song!

Then I called up volunteers to help pull the pictures out of the boxes as we sang the song. I love activities like this, that even the littlest kids can do.

Here is another poster I helped my mother-in-law make.

I love the blue!

TIP: use eyelets to help reinforce the holes, so they wouldn't rip

TIP: Put a piece of cardboard on the back of the poster, in between your string holes. This helps to keep the poster board from bending when you pul the string.

I made my boxes from a 6x6 square of scrapbook paper. Then I scored a line 1/2" inch on three sides, and then another 3/8" of an inch towards the outside of the box.

Cut out the two bottom corners, fold them over each other and glue.

This is what the "inside" of the box looks like.

Funny side note:

When I started this blog, my sister was just called as primary chorister.

Then, my Mother-in-law.

Then, my mom

(well, she's Stake Primary music leader, but ya know...same field..).

Then, My sister got released.

but now...

my other sister has just been called as primary chorister.

YAY!

More ideas!

Flood Runner 3

run, jump, double-jump, glide and kick your way through a series of creatures in this Armageddon style running game, collect multipliers and aim for a high score.

Pusher

Pusher likes to be alone inside his colorful block world. Use boxes to throw all the evil robots out. Avoid spikes, laser beams and robots. Use movable object as a shield against laser beams and spikes and as a weapon against robots.

Robert E. Howard and the Bechdel Test

/bech·del test/ n.

1. It has to have at least two women in it

2. Who talk to each other

3. About something besides a man

As far as I can understand it, the Bechdel Test is a deceptively simple test which, while not damning or indicting in itself, does highlight a somewhat disquieting trend in the cinematic treatment of female characters.

This video from The Feminist Frequency (who I have my disagreements with, but largely respect her opinions on some matters) gives us the gist of it, as well as highlights how worryingly common it is, even in recent times.

Hmm...

I'll defer to the grand mistress TV Tropes to explain in further detail:

The Bechdel Test, Bechdel-Wallace Test, or the Mo Movie Measure is a sort of litmus test for female presence in movies and TV. The test is named for Alison Bechdel, creator of the comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For, who made it known to the world with this strip.
In order to pass, the film or show must meet the following criteria:
it includes at least two women* ...
who have at least one conversation...
about something other than a man or men.
If that sounds to you like a pretty easy standard to meet, try applying the test to the media you consume for a while. There's a good chance you'll be surprised: mainstream media that passes is far less common than you might think. Now, by limiting yourself to shows/movies that pass the test, you'd be cutting out a lot of otherwise-worthy entertainment; indeed, a fair number of top-notch works have legitimate reasons for including no women (e.g. ones set in a men's prison or on a World War Two military submarine or back when only men were on juries or with no conversations at all, or with only one character). You may even be cutting out a lot of works that have feminist themes. But that's the point: the majority of fiction created today, for whatever reason, seems to think women aren't worth portraying except in relation to men. Things have changed since the test was first formulated (the strip in which it was originally suggested was written in 1985), but Hollywood still needs to be prodded to put in someone other than The Chick.

The test is often misunderstood. The requirements are just what they say they are - it doesn't make any difference if, for instance, the male characters the women talk about are their fathers, sons, brothers, platonic friends or mortal enemies rather than romantic partners. Conversely, if a work seems to pass, it doesn't matter if male characters are present when the female characters talk, nor does it matter if the women only talk about stereotypically girly topics like shoe shopping - or even relationships, as long as it's not relationships with men.

This is because the Bechdel Test is not meant to give a scorecard of a work's overall level of feminism. It is entirely possible for a film to pass without having overt feminist themes - in fact, the original example of a movie that passes is Alien, which, while it has feminist subtexts, is mostly just a sci-fi/action/horror flick. A movie can easily pass the Bechdel Test and still be incredibly misogynistic. Conversely, it's also possible for a story to fail the test and still be strongly feminist in other ways, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. What's a problem is that it becomes a pattern - when so many movies fail the test, while very few show male characters whose lives seem to revolve around women, that says uncomfortable things about the way Hollywood handles gender.

A couple of sites around the Internet have been talking about this test in the past few years. Here's the original strip:

Now, you'll notice that in the fourth panel, where the first rule is mentioned, there is a poster for a generic film named "The Barbarian" in the background, complete with the sword positioned in a truly hyperbolic level of unsubtlety. This is appropriate, since according to the Bechdel Test, Conan the Barbarian - the film - fails at the second hurdle, in that it has at least two named female characters, but none of them speak to each other. Somewhat perplexingly, the atrocious sequel Conan the Destroyer passes, albeit just barely - Jehnna and Taramis discuss the former's nightmares, while Jehnna and Zula discuss how to become a warrior. Red Sonja, on the other hand, passes comfortably, with Sonja & Gedren talking about the talisman, as well as Sonja and her sister Varna. Proof that the test says nothing about a film's cinematic merits.

One commentator pre-emptively thinks the upcoming Conan film will fail the test, which is interesting, since from what I know of the script, it should actually pass. That is, unless the character of Ilira has, in fact, been edited out, and Marique/Tamara aren't given any lines together, in which case... anyway.

Let's see if we can find some Howard stories that pass the Bechdel Test. Obviously those stories that don't have any female characters don't apply, nor do those with more than one who never meet or talk. However, there are stories where two female characters meet and talk, and most importantly, they have other topics of conversation than men. We'll start off with a few that I know meet the requirements.

"Black Colossus"

Yasmela and Vateesa spend much of the first chapter talking with each other. The first conversation is over Yasmela's recurring nightmare, and though we later learn that Natohk is a human sorcerer, neither Yasmela nor Vateesa treat Natohk as male, or even human at all:

Vateesa: Was it - was it - ?
Yasmela: Oh, Vateesa, It came again! I saw it - heard It speak! It spoke Its name - Natohk! It is Natohk! It is not a nightmare - it towered over me while the girls slept like drugged ones. What - oh, what shall I do?
Vateesa: Oh, princess, it is evident that no mortal power can deal with It, and the charm is useless that the priests of Ishtar gave you. Therefore seek you the forgotten oracle of Mitra.

This follows much discussion about Mitra, and though Mitra is a god and not technically a man, he still registers as male, so it might not count.

"Xuthal of the Dusk"

Considering much of the conflict between Thalis and Natala is over Conan, you'd think they wouldn't talk about anything other than the Cimmerian. Yet...

Thalis: Scream if you will, little fool. It will only shorten your life.
Natala: Why did you do this? What are you going to do?
Thalis: I am going to take you down this corridor for a short distance, and leave you for one who will sooner or later come for you.
Natala: Ohhhhhh! Why should you harm me? I have never injured you!

"A Witch Shall Be Born"

Seeing as one of the main protagonists and the main antagonist of the story are both female and twin sisters, it follows that they would discuss things other than men - and, indeed, the vast majority of their conversation doesn't really have anything to do with either.

Taramis: Ishtar! I am bewitched!
Salome: Bewitched? No, sweet sister! Here is no sorcery.
Taramis: Sister? I have no sister.
Salome: You never had a sister? Never a twin sister whose flesh was as soft as yours to caress or hurt?
Taramis: Why, once I had a sister. But she died.
Salome: You lie! She did not die! Fool! Oh, enough of this mummery! Look - and let your sight be blasted!
Taramis: Who are you?

A little later:

Taramis: Who are you? What madness is this? Why do you come here?
Salome: Who am I? Fool! Can you ask? Can you wonder? I am Salome!
Taramis: Salome! I thought you died within the hour of your birth.
Salome: So did many. They carried me into the desert to die, damn them! I, a mewing, puling babe whose life was so young it was scarcely the flicker of a candle. And do you know why they bore me forth to die?
Taramis: I - I have heard the story - The mark of the witch!

Later still:

Salome: You do not love my caresses, sweet sister? You are not so ready with your tears as formerly, sweet sister.
Taramis: You shall wring no more tears from me. Too often you have revelled in the spectacle of the queen of Khauran sobbing for mercy on her knees. I know that you have spared me only to torment me; that is why you have limited your tortures to such torments as neither slay nor permanently disfigure. But I fear you no longer; you have strained out the last vestige of hope, fright and shame from me. Slay me and be done with it, for I have shed my last tear for your enjoyment, you she-devil from hell!
Salome: You flatter yourself, my dear sister,” purred Salome. “So far it is only your handsome body that I have caused to suffer, only your pride and self-esteem that I have crushed. You forget that, unlike myself, you are capable of mental torment. I have observed this when I have regaled you with narratives concerning the comedies I have enacted with some of your stupid subjects.

"The Black Stranger"

Tina and Belesa are among the only two females in a settlement, so it follows that a lot of their conversations might involve men by proxy. That said, their conversation is not restricted to males:

Tina: Lady Belesa! Oh, Lady Belesa!
Belesa: What are you trying to tell me, Tina? Get your breath, child.
Tina: A ship! I was swimming in a pool that the sea-tide left in the sand, on the other side of the ridge, and I saw it! A ship sailing up out of the south! Look, my Lady!

Later...

Belesa: Tina! Where have you been? I thought you were in your chamber, hours ago.
Tina: I was, but I missed my coral necklace you gave me. I was afraid you wouldn't let me go if you knew - a soldier's wife helped me out of the stockade and back again - please, my Lady, don't make me tell who she was, because I promised not to. I found my necklace by the pool where I bathed this morning. Please punish me if I have done wrong.
Belesa: Tina! I'm not going to punish you. But you should not have gone outside the palisade, with these buccaneers camped on the beach, and always a chance of Picts skulking about. Let me take you to your chamber and change these damp clothes."
Tina: Yes, my Lady.

"Red Nails"

Valeria and Yasala have a very brief conversation, mostly Valeria interrogating Yasala:

Valeria: What the devil were you doing bending over me? What's that in your hand? The black lotus! The blossom whose scent brings deep sleep. You were trying to drug me! If you hadn't accidentally touched my face with the petals, you'd have - why did you do it? What's your game? Tell me, or I'll tear your arm out of its socket! Slut! Why did you try to drug me? Did Tascela send you? Do you fear someone will hear you? Whom do you fear? Tascela? Olmec? Conan? You sulky slut! I'm going to strip you stark naked and tie you across that couch and whip you until you tell me what you were doing here, and who sent you! Well, are you going to talk? "I can keep this up all night, if necessary!
Yasala: Mercy! I will tell. Wine! Let me drink. I am weak with pain. Then I will tell you all.

Valeria also talks to an unnamed Tecuhltli woman:

Valeria: Why did you bring me into this chamber to bandage my legs? Couldn't you have done it just as well in the throneroom?
Woman: They have taken the rest of the wounded into the other chambers. They will be carrying the corpses of the dead down into the catacombs, lest the
ghosts escape into the chambers and dwell there.
Valeria: Do you believe in ghosts?

Valeria and Tascela don't have a conversation, so much as Tascela monologues to her, plus there's a reference or two to men, and so I don't think it really counts. Still, Valeria does respond via gestures, so I might as well put it in all the same:

Tascela: Opening upon this hall, there is a chamber which in old times was used as a torture room. When we retired into Tecuhltli, we brought most of the apparatus with us, but there was one piece too heavy to move. It is still in working order. I think it will be quite convenient now. I have chosen you for a great honor. You shall restore the youth of Tascela. Oh, you stare at that! My appearance is that of youth, but through my veins creeps the sluggish chill of approaching age, as I have felt it a thousand times before. I am old, so old I do not remember my childhood. But I was a girl once, and a priest of Stygia loved me, and gave me the secret of
immortality and youth everlasting. He died, then - some said by poison. But I dwelt in my palace by the shores of Lake Zuad and the passing years touched me not. So at last a king of Stygia desired me, and my people rebelled and brought me to this land. Olmec called me a princess. I am not of royal blood. I am greater than a princess. I am Tascela, whose youth your own glorious youth shall restore.

So, that's at least five Conan stories which, as per my understanding, pass the Bechdel Test. I can't immediately recall any others, but perhaps my fine readers can. I'm positive they're out there. Interesting that a white male Texan writing in the 1930s could write a story that could pass a feminist-minded test that wouldn't be invented for another 65 years...

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